Tadashi's Sistah
by WinnieTherPooh
Summary: A freak burn case in San Fransokyo leaves doctors scrambling for a solution, a solution that only an expert chemist can provide, and everybody knows that the best chemist in town is Honey Lemon. But Honey has questions of her own for this case- who is this patient that looks familiar, yet acts like a stranger? Ships: Tomago, Tadahoney. Tadashi Lives AU
1. Chapter 1

Honey Lemon walked slowly up the stairs to her apartment, unlocking the door slowly, and then collapsing on the couch. Brushing a strand of hair off her face, she pulled her phone out of her purse. When she clicked the unlock button, she was startled, again, by the clear image of Tadashi staring back at her. From a few months before, when he had shared to her his success with Baymax. She wiped her eyes quickly, and scrolled through old text messages with Tadashi, trying to make herself feel better.

_Hey sistah! Guess what, just got let out of jail again. __L__ Stupid bro, but I love him._

_Hey sistah! Guess what! GoGo said she'd go out with me. Crazy, huh? Unbelievable._

Honey switched off her phone. She had wanted more than just Tadashi's "sistah." But Tadashi liked GoGo, and she wouldn't begrudge him that. Not now.

And then her phone rang. San Fransokyo Hospital Labs. "Hello, Honey Le-I mean Aiko Mizayaki. May I help you?"

The familiar voice of the head lab technician answered back. "Honey! I know you've been having a hard time, what with everything going on at the school, but would you mind coming in? We'd like you to help with an interesting burns case we got. He appears to be allergic to most of the medicines we have, and knowing that you've enjoyed working through formulas to find different options, I thought you might?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can, sir." Honey Lemon clicked her phone off, and raced into her room, ready to do something new, something to keep her mind off of this. Besides, maybe going to the hospital would give her a chance to see Abigail.

When she got there, however, the supervisor sent her right in to the patient's room, to get the known allergy list from his nurse. She knocked lightly on the door, and stepped in, before stopping dead in her tracks.

This couldn't be possible. It was a strange coincidence, of course. There were lots of people who would look the same wrapped in bandages. But that person on the bed. He looked like Tadashi.


	2. Chapter 2

Honey Lemon always had something to say. IF she said it or not, well, that was another thing. But now she was truly without words. Stepping quietly up to the nurse, she whispered, "I'm Honey Lemon, from SFIT. The lab manager called me to help develop a pain killer that he's not allergic to."

The woman smiled at her, though her face remained tense and worried. "He's had reactions to every painkiller we've tried, and we're just at the end of our rope. Are you all right, Miss Honey?"

"I think so, yes, it's just, what's the patient's name?" Honey asked, a little nervously.

"I'm sorry, dear, we couldn't find any last name. Just the first name Tadashi on a burned out student card. But of course, that's a very popular name. Why do you ask?"

"Tadashi." Honey whispered, and then moved towards the bed. "He was my friend, before the fire."

"Would you prefer not to work on this project then? We can find a replacement?" The nurse looked concerned, and reached for the phone.

"No, no, I can do this. I just, I thought he was dead?" Honey shook her head in disbelief. "This can't be happening!"

"They found him in the ruins of the SFIT exhibition hall. He was conscious then, and wouldn't let us tell anybody." The nurse sighed, and shook her head as she flipped through a file to find the list of tried and failed chemicals and drugs.

"I have to tell Hiro, he's been mourning for Tadashi." Honey turned to the door, but the nurse stopped her.

"You can't, Miss Honey. It would be specifically violating the wishes of Mr. Tadashi."

"All right then." Honey took the sheet of paper, ready to head to the lab. "If you don't mind my saying, when did he last have consciousness?"

The nurse shook her head and sighed again. "It's been a week since we got him, and he's only been conscious the first few minutes."

"All right." Honey repeated, and left for the lab, her mind racing a whirling with the situation going on. She couldn't tell anybody, not even her friends. How would she keep this a secret from them? She had to. She had to help Tadashi.


	3. Chapter 3

Back in her apartment again, Honey collapsed on her bed, eyes welling up with tears. Tadashi was still alive? Why would he have kept the secret from her? From _Hiro_? Her phone rang. Wasabi. "Hey, this is Honey." She fought to keep her voice steady.

"Hey Honey. Have you talked to Hiro lately? He seems kind of-wait, are _you_ okay?" Wasabi sounded concerned. He always noticed the little things.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Honey sat up, and wiped her eyes with her hand. "No, I haven't talked to Hiro lately."

"You don't sound okay, Honey." Wasabi was worried. "Can I come over and check on you?"

"Sure. Thanks 'sabi." Honey leaned back on her pillows. She could tell Wasabi. He could keep a secret for her.

"I'll be over there in about….8 minutes. I just have to finish up some things, and then I'll come right upstairs. Take care now."

Honey was glad that her apartment was in the same building as Wasabi. Wasabi was good, kind, and dependable.

When the doorbell rang, she opened it up to find Wasabi, carrying a large insulated bag. "I brought you some things."

"Oh, Wasabi, you didn't need to." Honey smiled. "I'm fine, really."

"No, you're not." Wasabi headed towards her little kitchen. "I have chicken broth, rolls from the bakery, and a box of fudge. Let me put them away, and then we'll talk."

"Thank you, Wasabi." Honey sat down on the couch, waiting for him to come.

Wasabi came and sat next to her, looking genuinely concerned. Like an older brother. "What's going on, Hon?"

"It's just-" Honey paused, trying to decide if she should tell him or not. "I went to the hospital today. They wanted me to help them with a lab issue."

"And?" Wasabi probed, already sensing where this was heading. "You saw something that upset you? Worried you? Can you talk about it?"

"That's the thing, I need to tell somebody about it. The…patient didn't want his friends and family to know." Honey struggled to find the right words.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes in Tadashi's brain. The fire must have really messed him up for him to think that that would be okay." Wasabi sighed.

"Wait, you know?" Honey asked, bolting up right in surprise. "How long have you known?"

"I guessed it, Honey. You wouldn't have been so upset if it had just any other person. I mean, you would be upset, but not crying."

"I wasn't crying." Honey insisted, indignantly. Wasabi just raised his eyebrows at her. "All right, I was."

"Okay, you can cry if you want to. This whole thing is messed up. Just messed up." Wasabi stared at his hands. "Tell you what, we'll do what the knucklehead wants and not tell Hiro, or Fred, or Aunt Cass, or GoGo. Just between you and me, okay?" Honey nodded. "If you need to talk through this, let me know." Wasabi stood up, and stretched. "People aren't meant to keep huge secrets by themselves. I have to run now. I have class. But we'll talk more later."

"Thank you, Wasabi." Honey stood up as well, giving him a hug. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it. I got your back, Lem." Wasabi gave her a fist bump.


	4. Chapter 4

**So sorry for the long delay guys! Life got really crazy, and I lost my groove for this fic. A dear friend bumped me out of it, and so here you are. Expect several chapters (pre-written) over the next few weeks. I really really appreciate all the review and follows. =D Also, forgive my lack of medical knowledge.**

Honey found it hard not to tell GoGo about Tadashi. She had been so close to him, poor thing, and Honey knew he was alive, and couldn't say anything. And Hiro. Poor guy. Honey hadn't really seen him for weeks, not unless a quick stop with cookies counted. Aunt Cass had just shrugged helplessly when Hiro wouldn't come downstairs.

At least Wasabi knew, and that was one weight off her chest. He kept checking up on her, bringing her cookies, and sometimes even flowers.

One afternoon after coming by with a frozen pizza for supper, Wasabi hung around. "Hey, Honey, would you mind telling me what's going on with Tadashi? How did he survive the fire?"

Honey sat down at her kitchen table, and stared at her nails. "He's burned, very badly. After the fire, his body is rejecting all the medicines we have, so we can't relieve the pain or get rid of the bacteria." Honey blinked hard a few times. "He's still in a coma, so obviously he can't talk. But he always looks like he's in pain, and there is _nothing_ I can do about it."

"Hey girl, you're helping him just by being there." Wasabi sat down next to her, and put his hand gently on her shoulder. "

"But I should be doing more." Honey cried. "What if he wakes up and I am not there? What if nobody is there? What if he doesn't wake up, Wasabi, and it is my fault for not helping him?"

Wasabi offered a quick prayer, and then rubbed Honey's back gently. "You are helping him, Honey, I told you that. What can you do to help him?"

"I don't know." Honey wiped her eyes. "I've been trying to help in the lab, but I just can't find a solution."

"And will sitting at your kitchen table crying help you with a solution?" Wasabi asked, standing up and stretching.

"N-no." Honey stammered, knowing where this was headed. "I suppose that I could go over there now, and do my homework in his room, and then maybe try more in the lab?"

"You rock, girlie." Wasabi gave her a fist bump. "I'll drive you over." Grabbing the pizza, he headed to the door. "Hopefully they have a microwave or something."


	5. Chapter 5

Honey yawned, and looked at the clock. 11:30 pm. She should probably head home and go to bed soon. But she was _almost_ done with this formula, and just maybe it would be the right one, and it would help Tadashi. She yawned, and opened her phone. Flicking through her favorite playlists, she clicked on an older song, by Taylor Swift.

As the song began, Honey smiled and put her pencil back on her paper. Humming along with the lyrics, she could not help thinking of her and Tadashi. _Cause I know everything about you, and I don't want to live without you_. She couldn't help looking up at TAdashi. And that was when she saw it. His eyes were open, and he was looking at her, and he raised his hand just a little.

Honey jumped to her feet, and ran to his side, her chair falling over. "Tadashi? You're awake."

He looked at her, blinking a few times. His hand moved a little again, and Honey realized he was motioning for her phone. She brought it over, somehow remembering to page the nurse.

Placing the phone in his hand, she wondered why he wanted it. His mouth was moving, and she leaned closer even though she knew no sound would come out. She realized in delight that he was mouthing the words. _And you drive me crazy half the time, the other half I'm only trying._

His eyes slipped shut again, and Honey had a hard time keeping herself from screaming. When the nurse came in, she explained, "He woke up, for a few minutes. I was playing music, and he mouthed a few of the words, but now he's gone again."

The nurse smiled, and nodded. "Good."

Honey shook her hand warmly. "If he wakes up again, call me so I can come over here.I have to go home and go to bed now."

The nurse agreed. "Get your rest now." As she watched Honey quickly pack up and leave, she turned back to her table and sighed. The coma was over- now came the recovery. And if she knew anything about burns, it wouldn't be easy.


	6. Chapter 6

Honey paced wildly across the living room floor, unable to sleep. Her bed looked comfortable, and she was already in her fluffy fleece pajamas with the elements on them. But she couldn't sleep.

She was far too excited, for the first part. Tadashi had woken up! He had known the song! He was awake, he was alive!

And then that gave way to worry. If she was actively helping a LIVE Tadashi, how could she keep it secret from Hiro and Go Go and Fred? Something told her that she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. Her fingers were poised over her keypad, inches away from spilling the huge secret that Tadashi had been so adamant about keeping.

Why?

She turned off her phone and stared at the ceiling. She should get one of those pillow pets that played music and projected stars onto the ceiling. It was too quiet in her room. Too dark. Too many thoughts.

Honey Lemon rolled over, one hand under her pillow, now looking at the wall. Still no sleep. She rolled to the end of the bed. Hung one leg off. Her head off. Pushups on the bed. Rolling around. Under all the covers. Out of all the covers. Listen to music. Listen to falling raindrops from the beginning storm. Play candy crush.

Honey heard her clock ticking. That would make 1800 seconds. 30 minutes. Still no sleep.

Getting up, she slid into her pink bunny slippers, and walked into the kitchen. The light almost blinded her, but she managed to start the coffee maker. Funny- she had been wide awake until she got out of bed. On second thought, coffee wasn't a good idea.

Instead, she pulled out some ice cream, and recklessly ate it with a fork, before returning to bed. In an instant, she was asleep.

The morning came way too early, with her incorrigibly cheerful wake up music. She almost rolled over and kept sleeping. But then, why not wake up? In a bounce, she was awake, feeling like a wreck, but with a coffee maker.

She wanted to skip class, but that would make it too obvious, and- clapping a hand to her forehead, she suddenly remembered Wasabi. He would be wanting to know what had happened, and silly girl she was, Honey hadn't texted him the night before.

_Wasabi-Tadashi woke up._

And then it was out the door, and towards SFIT. Remembering her amazing experience the day before put a spring in her step, and energized her for the day. In the lab, she gave a cheery smile to GoGo and waved. "Good morning!"

GoGo popped a bubble at her, and nodded. "Same." She nodded towards the bike. "Almost done."

Honey Lemon grinned. "Awesome! You go, girl! Sorry, bad pun." Honey slipped into her lab coat, mentally slapping herself ten thousand times over. It had always been a nerd lab thing, saying go, girl. But Tadashi had started it.

The flash of intense sadness and pain across GoGo's face cut Honey to the core. She would have given her friend a hug, but that...didn't work with GoGo. If she didn't initiate it, beware. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry." Honey apologized, her sincere sorrow showing in her voice.

GoGo forced a smile. "No, no worries at all. Just a nerd lab thing. Have you seen Hiro?"

Honey Lemon shook her head. "No, I haven't. You?"

"Same. I tried, but he wouldn't come downstairs." GoGo nodded towards her bike again. "I wanted to show him, but... yeah."

"I'm sure he'll snap out of it." Honey said, a little bit too confident. "Well, I guess I should get to work." A wave at GoGo, and then walking to her work station, still mentally kicking herself. More than anything she wanted to go hug the girl, tell her that Tadashi was alive, take her to see him. But she couldn't. She had promised Tadashi Hamada, and sistahs don't break promises.


	7. Chapter 7

**{Author's note: I am so sorry for disappearing. I hope you are all still with me. School started, life got crazy, yeah. I have at least one chapter after this already written, but I'm stuck for more. Please R&amp;R, recommend to friends, anything to motivate me.}**

The arrival of some weird monster at Honey's lab didn't faze her at all. Though she did wonder who would ever choose that particular creature as the mascot for the school. Fred pulled off his huge mask, looking strangely at her. "What is it Freddie?" Honey asked him. If Tadashi was her older brother, Fred was undoubtedly her younger brother.

"I was hoping you might soften your heart and try doing THIS." Fred slapped one of his ever present comic books on the table. The fire breathing lizard again.

"Freddie, I told you-"

"I know, I know. It's 'not science' but please!" Honey almost gave in to his convincing puppy dog eyes. And then she looked down at the formulas on the table.

"I'm sorry, Fred, but I promised to work on this formula, and it's very important."

"More important than Fredzilla? Unlikely! What is this anyway?" Fred scanned the pages.

Honey quickly gathered up the papers. "Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing." Fred argued. "What is it? What are you trying to hide from the great Fredzilla!"

"Nothing! I'm not hiding anything." Honey Lemon told him. The best defense would be to tell him part of the truth. "I'm doing some work for the hospital. They have a patient with some complex allergic reactions to their medicines, and so I'm trying to develop something for them, and it's so nice of you to take an interest in that. Would you want to help?" She looked up from the papers. Fred was gone. Bingo.

She worked for a few hours, trying formula after formula. What had happened to her chemistry? Everything was failing. Her phone buzzed. Wasabi. He had offered to stop by and check on Tadashi for her, until she could get there that afternoon.

_Honey Lemon, we need you, right now. Hurry._

It only took a moment for her to race out the door.


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N: Thank you for all the follows and reviews! This story marches on! I'm working on chapter 9 right now. R&amp;R please!)**

Honey Lemon stood in shock in the doorway as the nurses hovered over Tadashi. Wasabi was standing at the table, eyes wide with horror. When he saw Honey, he hurried over.

"Wasabi, what's happening?" Honey Lemon asked, eyes still on the thrashing Tadashi. "What's going on?"

"He woke up." Wasabi told her, his face set and grim. "He's conscious to the pain, and that happened."

"So he woke up again? That's good news, can't we focus on the good?"

Wasabi shrugged. "I suppose so. But this... it's not good at all."

Honey dropped her purse on the table, and moved closer to Tadashi. The nurses moved out of her way, and she knelt beside the bed. It felt strange to take his hand, shaking and bandaged, but she did it. "Tadashi? It's me. Honey Lemon, I'm here, all right?" He calmed a little bit, but his eyes were still darting around wildly. "Listen to me, Tadashi, I'm here. Everything is going to be all right, okay? We're going to help you." He could hear her, and she thought he might understand. His hand relaxed in hers. "Just stay with me Tadashi, okay? I'm going to find something to help you, okay? I promise."

Tadashi's hand squeezed hers for a second, and then went limp. When Honey looked up, his eyes had slipped shut. A nurse took her place, checking something. "He's sleeping again. How close are you on that formula?"

"I was working on it. I'll go back to my lab right away." Honey Lemon mechanically took her purse, walking almost robotically out of the room. Wasabi followed her.

"Honey! Are you alright?" He asked her, putting his arm around her shoulder.

Honey's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know, I don't think so."

Wasabi steered her into the tiny coffee shop on the main level, and got her a mocha, and let her recover. "Listen, Honey- I know I'm a physics guy. I have no idea how I could possibly help you making this formula. But I will help you in any way I can. Deal?"

"Deal." Honey sniffed. "Thank you, Wasabi."

"Not a problem. Remember? I have your back." Wasabi patted her on the shoulder. "Now you get yourself together, and we'll start working on this formula."


	9. Chapter 9

Honey Lemon pushed her chair back from her desk, rolling over to her computer simulation, and running one more formula through. Deep rings under her eyes betrayed her lack of sleep over the past few days, and she promised herself- after this one, she would go to bed. Letting the simulation run, she returned to her papers, waiting for the dull beep that would let her know what had failed this time. Except it didn't come. She waited a little bit longer, and then looked over at the screen. "Stimulation Successful."

"YES!" She shouted, jumping to her feet. "WASABI"

Wasabi, who had been making himself comfortable in Fred's comic chair, after organizing them all by release date, woke up with a start. "Honey! What's going on?"

Honey ran over, taking his hand. "C'mere, c'mere. I did it! I think I finally got it!" Honey showed him the screen, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Honey! You did it! How long will it take you to produce it?" Wasabi asked her, as excited as she was.

"I can't do it here. I mean, I could, but it would be better at the hospital. I suppose I could make a sample of it and bring it to them, but..."

"Do it. I'm going to get something to wake me up so that I can drive you over there." Wasabi said, starting for the door. "How long do you need?"

"Give me an hour." Honey said, printing out another copy and getting her lab coat.

An hour and a half later, they were driving through the early morning streets of San Fransokyo. The clock in Wasabi's car said 2:15 am, and Honey only hoped that the hospital would be open, and let them in.

Pulling up in front of the white building, Honey scanned her ID card, and the two of them came in. "Can you page Dr. Benazni?" She asked the receptionist. "I'm Miss Mizayaki, I have the drug we've been working on."

Mrs. Blair, who had silently watching what went on with their mysterious patient, was just as thrilled as Honey Lemon. "I'll page him right away, dear. You can go ahead up to Mr. Tadashi's room."

Honey Lemon clutched her precious package to her chest as they rode the elevator up, mentally steeling herself for what she would see. In the days that she had been working on the formula, Tadashi had deteriorated. He had lost weight, and because of his sensitive system, couldn't take any painkillers for burns and other injuries. Honey had almost purposely avoided going to his room, not wanting to see what was happening to her best friend. Now, however, she had a solution.

Armed with purpose, she hurried down the hallway, Wasabi by her side. Opening the door, she bit her lip as she saw him, lying flat on the bed. The IVs coming out of him, the oxygen mask on his face, everything made her want to turn around and run. She felt Wasabi's hand on her elbow, steering her towards the table. Sitting down, she waited for Dr. Benazi.


	10. Chapter 10

It worked. Dr. Benazi made her leave after they had given him the first injection, and been able to document that it was working positively. Wasabi drove her home, and promised to pick her up in the morning to take her back.

When she arrived, Tadashi was still lying still, but without the pain she had seen before. "Is he going to wake up?" She asked, clutching her purse.

"We're keeping him in a medically induced coma, dear, at least until we can have him on a partial ventilator." The nurse explained, from where she was at her station.

"Yes, yes of course." Honey nodded robotically, and sat down at the table. "What can I do?"

"You've done so much already. Go to school, until we can get more insight into his condition. All right?"

"Yes, I'll be back." Honey said, standing up, and leaving.

6:30 PM

"He's breathing more steadily now." Ani told her, showing her some charts. "All we can do now is wait, and try to make a plan for treating his injuries."

"And what do we know about those?" Honey asked.

"Obviously a lot of burns. A lot. He had broken ribs, those are healing, so is his broken arm, and his lungs have issues from inhaling the smoke."

"So it's not that bad?" Honey breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean it's bad, the burns are terrible."

"There was also trauma with his spine." Ani admitted with a sigh. "I'm sorry, dear."

Honey nodded slowly. "It's been 3 weeks? How much have you been able to do with him?"

"His bones are set, in his arm and ribs. With the spine injury, all we can do is wait." Ani shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "I'm sorry."

Honey moved slowly towards Tadashi, tears threatening at her eyes. "What can I do now? I have to do more."

"Be here for him. He's wavering in and out of consciousness. The best thing for him now is support and love. You can give him that." Ani smiled at her, retreating back to her station.

Honey knelt beside his bed, taking his thin hand in hers. "I'm here, Tadashi. Please, please wake up. Just for a second. Please give me some hope. Please, Tadashi, please." And then, just for a second, his hand gave hers a tiny squeeze.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: "But Idril" you say "I thought Wednesday was update day."**

**I know I said that, but I had a long car ride, so this is a BONUS WEEK! YAY!**

**Please R&amp;R (&amp;Recommend)**

"Honey?" Wasabi asked over the phone. "How's Tadashi?"

"He squeezed my hand for a second, but nothing beyond that. What's up?" Honey asked. This wasn't Wasabi's normal time to call.

"Two things. Honey, when was the last time you went to class?" Wasabi's voice had the stern older brother voice that reminded Honey of her own father.

"Well-" Honey decided not to disclose when she had actually gone to class, and to make excuses instead. "There's just been so much to do with Tadashi, and so much lab work. I've just been busy."

"Honey, that's not an excuse." Wasabi told her flatly. "I know you care about Tadashi, and I do too. But your education is what helps him. You can't neglect that for him, it's not what he would want." As Honey began to protest, Wasabi continued. "I don't want you missing another class over this. I'm going up come pick you up, and we'll go see your professors."

"You're not asking me." Honey remarked, her face flushing a little with embarrassment that Wasabi had to step in with her school like this.

"Nope, I'm not. I'll see you in 10."

Honey was practically kicking and screaming as Wasabi (almost) forcibly removed her from Tadashi's room. "Honey, listen to me. This is about you now, forget Tadashi. No, I didn't mean that. But you can't let this consume your whole life, Hon. You have your education."

"But-"

"But what?" Wasabi asked. By now they were in the car, heading to the campus. He could tell that something was truly bothering the chemist.

Honey looked at her hands. "I don't want him to wake up without somebody being there." Her faced flushed, and a tear dripped onto her folded fingers. "I don't want him to be alone in there."

"I'll make sure that he's not alone, Honey." Wasabi said, and Honey knew that he meant it.

"You said there was a second thing." Honey remembered, grabbing a tissue from Wasabi's ever-present box. "What was that?"

"It's about Hiro."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Here is the official chapter for this week. =D I hope you enjoy it. It's a shorter chapter, but I'm finally getting into semi-canon with Baymax and Hiro's first adventure with Yokai. Please Rate and Review!**

"You're right, Wasabi." GoGo agreed after Wasabi shared his concerns with the group over Hiro. "He shouldn't be alone all the time like this."

"He deleted our message a few days ago." Honey said, shaking her head sadly. "What can we do to help him?"

"If he won't let us talk to him, what are we supposed to do?" GoGo asked, looking pointedly at Fred and Wasabi for ideas.

"If one of you would work on an invisibility cloak like Professor Doom, then we could get up to his house without him locking the door, and then he'd have to talk to us."

GoGo gave him an icy stare. "Anybody have ideas that _aren't _based on comic books?"

Fred wilted. "Sorry. I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere a little bit. And an invisibility cloak would totally work, jussayin. Ok, I'll shut up now."

Suddenly, all of their phones rang. They all stared at the number for a minute. "How is this even possible?" GoGo spoke first, holding up her phone. "This is Tadashi's number. Shouldn't that be out of service?"

"It doesn't make sense." Wasabi agreed. "Maybe Hiro got grounded, and so he's digging up Tadashi's old phone to call us?"

"Aunt Cass? Ground somebody? I don't think that's happening." Honey laugheed half heartedly. "I'm going to answer." With a click she held it up to her ear. "Hello, Honey Lemon, how may I help?" She looked confused as the person on the other end answered. She held it away from her face as she hissed to the group. "It's _Baymax_."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: See, I didn't die or disappear off the face of the earth. Please review! It keeps me motivated to write this story.**

"It's probably a bad habit, don't you think?" Honey asked Tadashi as she sat beside his bed. "This talking to you, when I don't even know if you can hear me. I'm sorry that I haven't been here. Ani told me that you woke up once, and you were looking for me. I'm sorry. But I was taking care of Hiro. He needs help, Tadashi. He's depressed, and he's doing crazy things. He misses you. A lot. GoGo is lonely, Tadashi. Wasabi and I are trying, but we can't replace you. You mean so much to them. Please, wake up. They need you. Let me tell them, let me do something to let them know that you're here. Please." Honey put her head in her hands, her voice wavering. "I miss you too, Tadashi. I miss the way you would steal my phone in the lab, and take ugly selfies on it. I miss your laugh. I miss staying up late in the lab with you, while you worked on Baymax and I did experiments. I miss talking to you, even if it was about something stupid like what take out we should order. I miss helping you with Hiro, and I don't like having to look out for him by myself. I miss your smile. I miss watching you love GoGo. I miss you, Tadashi. Please, come back."

She knew by now that he wouldn't respond to her. They said that he was out of the coma, and that he was improving, but Honey couldn't see any improvement in him. Some of the fiery red was fading from his burns, to be sure, but what was improvement if he wasn't really awake? When his bones were healing, yet he was still thin and almost wasted looking, it didn't seem like improvement to her. "How long before we could expect him to be awake more?" Honey asked the nurse who had just come in to give him a routine check. "It's been a week since he woke up the first time."

"Honestly, dear, I don't think that it's a matter of health. I think it's a matter of wanting to." The nurse told her. "He's perfectly able to be awake right now, I just don't think he wants to."

Honey's lip quivered. "That can't be right. You mean he could be awake, right now, and just pretending not to be? Like when I was a kid, and I didn't want to get out of bed, so I would pretend to keep sleeping? To avoid chores, or something?"

"I mean exactly that." The nurse said. "He needs the will to wake up each day."

Honey nodded, not trusting herself to speak for a minute. "What can I do?"

"You've done everything you can. He's lucky to have a girlfriend like you." The nurse smiled at her, and left.

Honey broke down as soon as the nurse's footsteps faded. She sobbed hysterically into her knees for a few minutes, before she got the creepy feeling that somebody was watching her. Her first thought was Yokai. What if he had found them, what if he was going to try to kill Tadashi like he had tried to kill them only yesterday? Her head jerked up to the window, but there was nothing out there but the faint glow of the city. Still, the feeling of being watched remained. It took her a minute to remember the other person in the room, and she slowly turned towards Tadashi. Sure enough, his black eyes were staring at her again. "Tadashi?" She whispered. "Have you been pretending this whole time?" She couldn't understand what he was trying to tell her with his eyes. They looked a chasm of hope, despair, sympathy, sorrow- and things she couldn't place. He didn't try to speak to her for a few long moments. He blinked, and a tear spilled out from under his eyelid. "You don't have to answer me." Honey said, hoping that she sounded somewhat comforting. "I'm going to be here for you no matter what."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Please review! We're really getting into the story now, and your reviews are what keep me writing. =D**

He woke up for three days straight after that. By the end of the third day, he was able to speak to her. "Honey?" She had been reading to him from a robotics magazine, one she had found in his boxes of things over at Aunt Cass's. In an instant, the magazine was on the ground, and her full attention was on Tadashi.

"Tadashi? You talked!" Honey almost started crying again with happiness.

Tadashi gave the closest thing to a smile that Honey had seen since the fire. "I can talk." His voice was hoarse, as if speaking was not familiar to him. It had been a long time since he had talked, Honey reasoned. Honey nodded. Tadashi's next words surprised her. "You didn't- tell anybody- did you?" His bony hand grabbed her wrist. "Please tell me you didn't tell anybody- not Hiro- or GoGo- I don't want them to- to see me like this."

Honey shook her head. "They don't know. Besides me, only Wasabi knows. Why didn't you want us to tell them, Tadashi? They think you're dead- Hiro's been grieving for you, GoGo- everybody, Tadashi. Please, can't I tell them now?"

Tadashi's fingers dug into her wrist as panic sprung into his eyes. "You can't- please- don't."

Honey could see how upset he was getting, something that he certainly did not need in this situation. "Okay, okay, Tadashi. I won't. I promised, when this whole thing started, I wouldn't tell them until you said it was okay." Her words appeared to calm him down, as he relaxed his hold on her, and his face grew less panicked.

"Wasabi?" He asked, his voice tired.

"He found out on his own." Honey said, resisting the urge to yawn. She had been spending most nights in the hospital, and then helping Hiro build the super suits during the day. The relentless cycle with a miniscule amount of sleep was taking a toll on her body.

Tadashi gave a slight movement with his head, that Honey took to mean a nod. He started as her phone began to ring, and the beginning chords of Teardrops on My Guitar began to play through the room. Clearly the sound was bothering him, and Honey snatched her phone to silence it.

"It's Wasabi." She said apologetically, excusing herself into the hallway. "What's going on?" She hissed. "I'm with Tadashi, you know that."

"Uh, _RIGHT_. I hate to BOTHER you, when you're RESTING, but Hiro needs your help on the final touches for the suits." Wasabi was obviously trying to conceal the fact that she was at the hospital. That guy needed a lesson in subtlety.

Honey glanced at her watch. It was just after lunch, around 1:30. "All right, I'll be there as soon as I can." Hanging up, she went back into the room. "Tadashi, I have to go. Wasabi needs my help with, uh, a class project." She had decided that he didn't need to know about his baby brother's revenge plan on yokai. It wasn't something likely to help Tadashi heal.

"That was Taylor." Tadashi said. "You love listening to her."

Honey smiled, remembering the hours they had spent going through her old songs, even finding an old poster of her for Honey. "Yeah. I do. You'll be all right here, okay?" Stuffing her phone into her purse, she went back to his bedside. "I'll be back as soon as I can. It might be tomorrow."

Tadashi gave the motion she assumed to be a nod again, and Honey left the room as fast as she could. It didn't occur to her until she was waiting for the bus that Tadashi might have taken her the wrong way. "It probably looked like I was running away from him, and he's already worried about what Hiro and GoGo would think, and Honey how could you have been so stupid?" She berated herself angrily. "UGH. Remind me next time not to go sprinting off after one of your friends just starts talking after just staring at you for weeks." She realized that she was getting strange looks from the people around her. "Sorry. Long day." Honey said quickly, flashing a smile, and hurrying onto the bus.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: At last, an update! Please review, it keeps me inspired. **

"Wasabi, can't you talk some sense into him?" Honey asked him, as they held a conference in the hallway outside of Tadashi's room. "Every day I ask him if I can tell the others, and he freaks out every time."

"That's just something we need to respect right now." Wasabi told her. "I'll talk to him, but I'm not going to promise anything." Wasabi pushed open the door. "Hey, Tadashi. Long time no see."

"That's not true, is it?" The words scraped out of Tadashi's throat in the same hoarse voice that had startled Honey the week before. "You came-" A pause for labored breathing, "While I slept."

"Yeah, I did." Wasabi said. "How did you know?"

"Things." Tadashi said, his eyes gesturing around the room.

"How are you feeling, man?" Wasabi asked casually, sitting down on the chair next to him. "Pain okay?"

"Just okay." Tadashi said. It was a reminder to Honey that every day was a struggle. Maybe she was pushing him too hard.

"Hang in there. It'll get better." Wasabi encouraged him. "We'll have you up in no time."

Tadashi stared at the ceiling. The silence grew awkward. Wasabi cleared his throat and shifted around. "Don't ask me." Tadashi said abruptly.

"Ask you what?" Wasabi queried. "I didn't ask you anything."

"You were about to ask me for permission to tell them." Tadashi forced the sentence out with effort.

Once again an awkward silence reigned. "How did you know?" Wasabi asked, "And for the record, I wasn't going to. I might have brought it up eventually. I'm just trying to be your friend here, Tadashi."

"It's all _she_ wants." Tadashi said, his eyes shifting towards Honey for a brief second. "That's why you're here," he paused, "to ask me again."

"Tadashi, listen to me. I don't care if you want them told or not, but what I do care about is your health. I could give you a dozen reasons why your family should know, or why you should let GoGo know that you're still alive, but I'm not going to do that. I'm going to sit here, and ask you how your pain is, and make small talk, because that's what you need right now." Wasabi said, getting strangely fired up for the normally calm man.

"Okay." Tadashi said. "My throat hurts."

"Can a nurse help with that?" Wasabi asked. Tadashi nodded his head slightly. "Then we'll get a nurse in here. Honey?" Turning back to Tadashi, Wasabi whispered, "To tell you the truth, she did want me to try and convince you. Keep it between you and me that I told you, all right?"

The reaction that Tadashi gave to the conspiratorial attitude of Wasabi was the closest thing possible to a smile.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Please review! It really motivates me to keep writing.**

"What are we going to do about Hiro?" Honey asked as the chopper flew across the bay. The adrenaline was still pounding from the terrifying minutes when Baymax had almost killed Yokai. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she repeated herself. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to him." GoGo said quietly. "I know what he was thinking."

Honey stared out the window at the dark water, wanting so badly to tell them about Tadashi. If Hiro had known about Tadashi-

"We're here." Fred said. They were all subdued as they got off onto Fred's lawn and trooped to Wasabi's new van.

"Honey!" Wasabi said, pulling her aside as they walked to the garage. "I know what you're thinking, Honey. But we can't tell him. We promised."

"Somebody almost died today because of this secret, Wasabi." Honey said, "I have to at least try to convince Tadashi again. This is stupid."

"I'll drive you over after we talk to Hiro." Wasabi said, "But don't say anything until then."

"I've been keeping this secret for a long time, Wasabi. I don't need you to tell me what to do." Honey said shortly.

Despite what she had said to Tadashi, Honey found it hard not to break the secret when she saw GoGo comforting Hiro. She was about to say something, wanting so badly to alleviate the pain in Hiro's eyes, when Wasabi caught her arm and pulled her outside.

"Come on, Honey. You can't do this to him." Wasabi said, sounding annoyed. "You can't just break a promise like that."

"Have you even thought about what _he_ is doing to _them?_" Honey fired back. "They are totally destroyed in there. Their lives are wrecked, and Tadashi wants to keep it that way. That is sickening, Wasabi."

"I know. I'm not condoning Tadashi's decision, but I'm going to respect it." Wasabi said, "And you promised that you would too."

"How much longer does this have to go on? Until he's out of the hospital? Done with therapy? Until he can walk again? We don't even know if that'll happen." Honey's chin trembled. "And in the meantime, Hiro's about to fail out of school. GoGo has mentioned transferring."

"Have you told him that?" Wasabi asked. "I didn't know that GoGo was leaving."

"She hasn't decided yet, but I know she's considering it. Tadashi has to tell them, Wasabi. Our world is falling apart because Tadashi is alive, and they don't know. We have to tell them, Wasabi."

"We can't. But I'll drive you over right now, and you tell that knucklehead what you just told me." Wasabi suggested. "We'll be back in an hour!" He called into the garage. "We're going to get takeout. Think of a plan."

"Are you done?" Tadashi's head was turned towards the wall, refusing to face her.

"Um, yes, I guess I am." Honey said uncertainly.

"It's only fair that I get to tell my side." Tadashi said. "It's better if I'm not there at all rather than be there like this."

"That's not true, Tadashi." Honey butted in, "They need you. What if GoGo leaves?"

"She'll find somebody else." Tadashi said. "Somebody who can move as fast as she can. She shouldn't be stuck with somebody who'll limp for the rest of their life."

"Limp? I thought-" Honey started.

"Chart. They told me this afternoon, while you were off who knows where." Tadashi said shortly. "GoGo needs somebody fast. Hiro will make it. He's a Hamada. He's done this before."

"Let GoGo decide that. Hiro needs help, Tadashi. His behavior is getting out of hand." Honey said, trying to find a way to say what she wanted without revealing that they were vigilantes. "

"I don't want them to know until I'm better." Tadashi persisted. "However long that takes until I'm normal."

"Tadashi, please." Honey said, "They don't need you in a few weeks ,or a month, or a year? Who knows how long it will be?"

"Thanks for the encouragement." Tadashi said sarcastically. "Believe me when I say this, if you ask me to tell them again, I will call security, and keep you from seeing me."

Honey's jaw dropped. "You can't do that."

"And why not? You're not my family, you're not my girlfriend. I'm grateful to you for helping me in the past, but you have to stop." Tadashi stared up at the ceiling. "I think visiting hours are over."

"Yeah." Honey said, standing up. "I think they are." Without a backwards glance, she left the room.

Tadashi turned his face back towards the wall.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this! Please review.**

Wasabi noticed right away, despite her feeble attempt to hide the conversation from him. The van smelled like home when she pulled open the door and slipped into the passenger seat. "I got Mexican." Wasabi said, grinning. "I found this place nearby, it has really great tacos. What's wrong?"

Honey shrugged, staring out the window at the passing buildings. She didn't trust herself to speak without crying. Tadashi had kicked her out of his room.

"Didn't go your way in there, huh?" Wasabi said, carefully pulling the van into a parallel parking spot. "Let's talk about it."

"Why did you pull over?" Honey queried. "The team will be worried about us if we don't get back in an hour."

"I don't want to be talking to you and then make a mistake while I'm driving. It's not safe to have deep conversations and drive." Wasabi said. "So, talk before the tacos get cold."

"He told me that if I mentioned it again, he'd have them keep me from coming to see him." Honey said, debating whether or not to mention what else he had said. _You're not my family. You're not my girlfriend_. "And then he asked me to leave. Told me to leave is more like it."

Wasabi sighed. "I don't want to say that you had it coming to you, because that's just mean."

"Oh, say it. Today couldn't get any worse." Honey ran her hand quickly under her eyes to clean up the unwanted tears.

"Tadashi isn't himself." Wasabi said. "We should get a therapist for him."

Honey shrugged. "Do what you like. He doesn't want me there anymore."

"Honey, he's frustrated, he's scared. That doesn't justify his actions, but you can't get all bent out of shape because of this one thing." Wasabi said. "Don't get into a dark and twisty place just because he is."

"That's good advice, Wasabi. Thank you." Honey said, continuing to stare out of the window. "They're going to worry about us."

Wasabi sighed, and pulled out of the parking space. The rest of the drive to the Lucky Cat was silent.

"Freddie, your shirt is a mess." Honey said, passing a napkin across the table in the kitchen. "Did you just dump your taco there instead of eating it?"

Fred laughed. "That's really funny. But do you know why it's a wreck?"

GoGo rolled her eyes. Wasabi sighed. "Why?" Honey asked enthusiastically. GoGo shot her an annoyed look.

"Because we're eating Messy-can."

"Shut up." GoGo swatted at Fred gently and turned her focus to Honey. "What's wrong with you?"

"Me?" Honey gave a nervous laugh. "Nothing. I'm fine. Today's been stressful, that's all."

"Sorry." Hiro muttered, poking at his food.

"Okay everybody, lighten up." Fred said. "I'm sorry that everybody is in a bad mood except for me, but we have bigger things to deal with. What are we going to do about Callaghan?"

"Well, we know that he's going after Krei." Wasabi said, "But what is his plan?"

"He's going to make a portal." GoGo said. "Why else would he steal the parts from Krei's old machine?"

"But where? Why?" Wasabi asked. "But just imagine the mess that would make." He shuddered.

"He'll destroy Krei Tech." Hiro spoke up suddenly. "Their new campus opens next week. He'll go there."

All eyes turned to Hiro. "Are you sure, little man?" Wasabi asked. "That seems a little farfetched."

"He's grieving still. He wants everybody to know that Krei was responsible for what happened to Abigail. He wants Krei to feel the same way he does, and destroying Krei's dream is how to do it."

"Why do you think that's what he'll do?" Fred pushed. "I mean, it sounds totally awesome, but what makes you think that?"

Hiro looked up. "Because that's what I would do."

There was a long silence around the table, only broken by the sound of Aunt Cass's footsteps coming up the stairs. "How are my heroes doing?" She asked, placing a tray of baked goods from the cafe on the table. "Lots of long faces tonight."

"Just planning something." Honey reassured the woman. "These are our thinking faces." Fred's expression immediately changed into something that he considered a face of intense genius.

"Well, I have to go back downstairs, but let me know if you need anything. Be safe kids. C'mon, Mochi." Aunt Cass disappeared down the stairwell.

"So we have to stop him. But how?" Wasabi said. "That portal is dangerous, man."

"The same way we were going to stop him before." Hiro said, "We go for the mask."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm sorry for the short chapter! I didn't want to compromise quality for quantity, but I promise the next one will be longer!**

"Last hug." Aunt Cass demanded as they started out the door. It had become something almost sacred to her. One last hug, just in case there was never any more.

The lab was different today. They were all excited and enthusiastic going in, but the absence of Baymax put a damper on the mood. Honey could see Hiro setting himself up in Tadashi's old lab, dusting off the chair, and putting the box with what was left of Baymax on the table. She didn't notice that GoGo had been standing with her until she turned and walked away. "GoGo-"

"What?" GoGo said, turning around. That couldn't be a smudge from her normally pristine mascara on her cheek, could it? It came out sharper than she had intended.

"Never mind now." Honey said, "How are you doing?"

"I miss Tadashi." GoGo said, "But I always miss him. Don't get me wrong, it's great that Hiro has finally gotten here. It's just different."

"I know what you mean." Honey said, "I miss him too." She did miss him. It had been over a week since she had last visited him, but that wasn't what she meant. She missed the old Tadashi, the Tadashi who would call her his sister, and steal her high heels when she stole his hat, and listen to Taylor Swift with her when she was sad. She missed the Tadashi who just sat and hugged her when she was crying about her aunt's cancer, or the test that she failed. Where was that Tadashi? She missed him.

"Honey, would you help me with something?" GoGo asked. Her voice was strangely silent.

"Of course, anything." Honey said, walking with her friend towards her lab space.

"I want to transfer." GoGo said. "And I need help with my application."

Honey had thought that her world couldn't have been more destroyed. She had been wrong.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Wasabi and Honey get a little heated. Lack of sleep, perhaps? Speaking of that, sorry for the long pauses between updates. Life is really crazy right now. Please review!**

"I'm here to visit Tadashi Hamada." Honey said, pulling out her driver's license at the front desk of the hospital. "I worked on his case before. I'm a chemistry student at the university?"

"Ah yes, I remember you. Go right on up." The receptionist said, smiling.

Honey's hands shook as she methodically put her driver's license away on the elevator ride up to Tadashi's floor. Did she have the guts to say what she wanted to say? This could be the end of her already fragile relationship with Tadashi. She could just apologize to him now, never pressure him about his family again. When he recovered, she could run away with him. They could finally be together, just like she'd always wanted.

No. That wasn't who she was. Resolutely, she pressed the button for his floor again.

He wasn't in his room, and instantly Honey's heart started pounding. Had he gone? Where was he? Wasabi would have told her if anything had changed. Speaking of which, where was Wasabi? Now that she looked, she could see his backpack on the chair by the table. She slowly walked in, dropping her purse on the table. The room hadn't changed in the past week. You never would have known that somebody had been living in this room for a month or more. There were no homely decorations around, nothing to make it any more than a bare room. A shiver ran involuntarily down Honey's spine.

"Hey." Wasabi's voice jolted her, sending her almost jumping into the air.

"Good grief, Wasabi, you startled me." Honey said, laughing nervously. "Where's Tadashi? How's he doing?"

"He's wondering why you suddenly ditched him." Wasabi said, his voice sounding a little more angry than usual. "And I'm wondering that too."

"I already explained that to you, Wasabi." Honey said, "He doesn't want his family to know that he's alive, and I'm having a hard time getting around that. It's just easier for me not to be here, and it's probably better for Tadashi too, not to have me nagging him."

"If that isn't the most selfish thing I've ever heard." Wasabi said, passing her as he entered the room and unzipped his backpack.

"Selfish?" Honey snapped back, "How is that selfish? I'm trying to respect his wishes, even though I don't agree with him in any way, shape or form, and in order to do that, I'm just not being around him. That's not selfish."

"It's passive-aggressive and manipulative. You're trying to make him feel bad or miss you, and then he'll give in to you. Well let me tell you something, Honey, it's not working. He thinks that you were finally scared away by his burns, and that you're not going to come back because he's too ugly now. He thinks you hate him because of how the fire changed him."

"Well, he's right about that. I hate how the fire changed him. I hate how he's now a cold-hearted shell of the person that he used to be, who doesn't care enough about his younger brother, aunt and girlfriend to tell him that he's freaking alive. Yes, I hate that. I despise that. If he thinks that I went away because of how he looks, I don't even know how to respond to that. Of all the shallow things for him to believe of me! I can't believe that he would even think that." Honey's voice was almost at a fever pitch now. "You think I'm being selfish? I'm the selfish one here? What about him? He's the one that we're all bowing and scraping to right now. He's the one who gets to be offended about things, but I can't disagree with him or take a little break from being around his depressing attitude? Out of the two of us, who is being more selfish here?"

"See, you changed it. You're admitting that you're being selfish now." Wasabi pointed out.

"Oh, whatever." Honey said, grabbing her purse. "Do you know what I was about to do? I was going to find him, and tell him what was going on. GoGo is filling out an application to transfer to another school. She can't do it here without him anymore. Hiro? I don't know what's going on with him anymore. I'm afraid that he might be hurting himself. He's dark, he's silent, he's still depressed, even if he puts on a good face at nights. I've been talking to Aunt Cass, and she says that he's barely eating now. Hiro is deteriorating, and I'm about to lose my best friend, and you're telling me that I'm selfish because I don't want to be around the person causing all of this? Well, fine. Call me selfish. Why don't you just tell Tadashi all of this yourself?"

"Honey." Wasabi said. She hadn't noticed how quiet he had gotten. "Turn around."

The purse fell to the floor as Honey recognized Tadashi standing in the doorway, leaning his weight heavily on the PT walker.

"I think I need to rest now." Tadashi told the therapist standing behind him. "Would you mind helping me?" His face was paler than ever underneath the angry red scars that were now visible, his facial bandages gone except for the one over his eye.

Honey moved out of their way, silent until they had gone past, and then she fled from the room, collapsing in a chair in the lobby of the ICU to curl her knees up to her chest and sob.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Please review! I need some motivation to get through these last few chapters.**

She hadn't just lost Tadashi, she had lost Wasabi too. He didn't call her after she left the hospital. In fact, she didn't see him until Hiro called all of them together to the lab, almost a week since she had ruined everything.

"I've been working on this since last week." Hiro said, his face more joyful than it had been in months. "It's ready now, I tested it this morning." He beamed at the group in front of him. Wasabi and Honey Lemon were avoiding each other, Honey perched on Hiro's desk, Wasabi staying to the back of the room. GoGo and Fred had exchanged looks that meant it was probably time to intervene. Hiro hadn't noticed any of it. He spread his arms out, and said loudly. "OW."

There was the familiar clink of robot parts and the hiss of an inflating balloon. They clapped as Baymax rose from the old charger on the floor. "I've upgraded him too." Hiro said proudly, "He's even lighter than before and he now knows dozens of new procedures."

"Hiro! I'm so proud of you." Honey said, slipping lightly of the desk to leave a pink kiss on his embarrassed face.

"Hello! I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion." Baymax said, "I was alerted to your need for medical attention when you said, OW. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" Hiro did not reply. "I will scan you now. Scan complete."

"He's perfect, Hiro." Honey said.

"Good job, Hiro." GoGo said, pulling him into a hug. "Tadashi would be proud of you."

"Tadashi is here." Baymax said.

"Oh shoot, he malfunctioned again." Hiro said, pushing away from GoGo. "Remember, Baymax. We talked about this this morning. Tadashi's not here." His voice broke. "He's gone."

"Tadashi is here." Baymax insisted, moving towards the door of the lab. "Tadashi is here."

"Baymax, no." Hiro said, "I'm sorry guys, I didn't know he would be like this. I'm satisfied with my care, Baymax."

"Tadashi is-" Baymax turned and began to waddle back to his charging station.

"Here." Honey was afraid to turn around when she heard the hoarse voice that had grown familiar in the past weeks. Maybe she was imagining things. The gasp from GoGo told her that it was Tadashi. She slowly turned. And there he was. He was in a wheelchair from the hospital, a huge sweatshirt covering his torso. The hood over his head cast a shadow, but she could still see the bandages covering the right side of his face. "Sorry, Wasabi. I know you wanted to break it gently but I just couldn't resist."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Finally an update! GoGo and Honey have some stuff to hash out. Thank you for sticking with this story! Please leave a review- they inspire me to keep writing.**

"Why didn't you tell me?" GoGo asked, pacing up and down the lab space. "Why didn't you TELL me?"

"I couldn't. I wasn't allowed to." Honey said. "I wanted to tell you, I almost did several times but Wasabi wouldn't let me."

"Since when do you let Wasabi tell you what to do?" GoGo whirled, pacing again.

"I wasn't allowed to tell you." Honey repeated, "I'm sorry. Tadashi- something is wrong with him. He wouldn't let us tell you."

"And what exactly could he have done to you, Honey?" GoGo asked, "I just saw the condition he's in. He couldn't have done anything to you if you had just told me. If something is wrong with me, I would have been there. I could have helped you."

"He didn't listen to anybody." Honey told her. "I-I thought it would be best not to break his trust. And then I saw what it was doing to everybody, and I went to tell him. That was two days ago. I had been avoiding him because I couldn't stand being around him and not telling you and Hiro. And when you told me that you were leaving? I went to tell him. He was at PT, and Wasabi was in his room. I lost it, and I was yelling at him and I said things that I probably shouldn't have about Tadashi. He was right there in the door, and after that I left. I called Wasabi, but he wouldn't answer. I hadn't heard from either of them until we came here today."

"I still don't see why you couldn't have just- why?" GoGo asked, turning to Honey with tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I couldn't. It's a rule-for doctors- the patient confidentiality." Honey whispered, "I wanted you to know, but Tadashi was in such a bad state. I didn't want to break his trust. He was already so upset about everything and it just felt wrong to do anything else to him."

"Right." GoGo said, "Right."

"Please, forgive me, GoGo." Honey said, wiping her eyes. "It was an impossible choice. I wanted to tell you and Hiro."

"I understand." GoGo said, dropping down on top of her desk. "I understand, I think. You were trying to look out for Tadashi. I get that. I'm trying to get that.I just need some time."

"Will you stay?" Honey asked, her hand on the door handle. "Will you stay here, now that he's back, or will you still transfer?"

"I don't know yet." GoGo said, not looking up. "It's still not the same here. I haven't talked to Tadashi yet, but if he didn't want me to know that he was even alive, he's not the same."

"We have to fight for him." Honey said, "The Tadashi we know and love is still in there. We can't just let him go. We have to fight and try to bring him back out. I know we can do it."

"Yeah?" GoGo sighed. "I hope you can do that, Honey. I'm just not sure if I can."

"What do you mean?" Honey asked, leaning against the door. "He loves you so much. That's got to mean something. He decided to tell you that he was alive because you were thinking of leaving."

"Does he really love me, Honey?" The question GoGo threw at her did not want an answer. "If you love somebody, do you let them live in grief? Do you wait until they are a shell of who they were before you take action, all because you don't know who you are anymore? It was a trauma, I get that. And things change, I understand that. But if Tadashi changed so much that he didn't care enough about me, didn't care enough about his baby brother to speak up before it was too late, then I don't want to know that Tadashi. It's going to take me long enough to forgive you, but I don't know if I can look him in the eyes. He put Hiro and me through hell, Honey. Maybe he didn't mean to, but if he had just stopped thinking about himself for a second-" Tears were rolling down the normally stoic girl's face. "I loved him so much." GoGo said, "And he didn't believe in me enough to tell me that he was alive."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the extremely long absence! Writer's block is tough. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint-I'm going to try and update more frequently.**

It was easy for Honey to disappear, now that everybody knew. Aunt Cass closed the cafe, at least for a vacation, and spent almost all her time at the hospital with Tadashi. Hiro never left Tadashi's side, GoGo was there frequently, Fred floated in and out, and Wasabi still gave her disapproving looks. And so she stayed at her apartment or at the lab, avoiding all of them. All she wanted to do was call Wasabi and ask how Tadashi was, or go and see him herself, but she couldn't manage it. She hadn't been wrong, and they wanted her to apologize. She wouldn't be the first to budge on this. Tadashi didn't need her anymore, and she could stay away without feeling guilty. At least, that's what she told herself during the day. At night she cried herself to sleep.

Five days after Tadashi's reappearance, Honey was startled from her dinner by a knock on the door. Nobody visited her except Wasabi, and he had no reason to come by. Going to the door, she was surprised to see Hiro. "Honey? Can I come in?" He asked, peering past her into the apartment.

"Of course, Hiro." Honey said, opening it wide. "It's a bit of a mess, but that shouldn't bother you."

"No, it doesn't." Hiro confirmed, sitting down at the table. Looking into his face, Honey realized that he had grown up. He was taller than she remembered, and his face had matured years.

"What brings you here, Hiro?" Honey asked tentatively, predicting the next words out of his mouth. He was angry at her for keeping the secret. "I'm sorry, I should have told you before-"

"Huh?" Hiro asked, "Told me? Oh, yeah. Right. I'm not upset about that. I mean, I am, but that's not why I came." He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not sure how to say this." Honey involuntarily moved to the edge of her seat. "Look- Tadashi misses you. I'm not sure what happened between you two, but I know that you've been with him for the past couple weeks, and you mean a lot to him. The doctors are giving him a lot of crap- I mean, his body has been through a ton, you know that, and he keeps hearing bad news, and I think it would be good for him if you were there and saw him."

"That's sweet, Hiro, but I don't think Tadashi wants to see me." Honey said, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Besides, he has you and Aunt Cass, and GoGo."

"GoGo doesn't get it." Hiro said flatly. "She hasn't been there with him the whole time like you have, and he really hurt her. I mean, I'm super ticked that he didn't want you to say anything and once he's better, he's going to hear it from me. He needs you. What even happened? What did you do that was so awful that you think he won't want to see you?"

Honey closed her eyes. "I was talking to Wasabi. I wanted to tell you that he was better. I was upset about the selfishness I saw in Tadashi, because that's not him. I wanted to tell him that. I couldn't stand being with him anymore, and he thought that it was because of his face. I was yelling at Wasabi, telling him to tell Tadashi what I really thought of his behavior, and Tadashi was right there in the doorway. I left after that, and I haven't talked to him since. I said some awful things about him."

"You were right." Hiro whispered, suddenly covering his face with his hands. All of a sudden, Honey saw a broken fourteen year old in front of her. "He's not the same. He's not acting like my brother. Tadashi wouldn't have done this to me. It's like he's still dead, but it's worse because he's not."

Honey moved to the other side of the table and put her arm over Hiro's shoulder. "We'll bring him back, Hiro. And he's going to be different, but he'll find himself again."

"Will you please come see him?" Hiro asked through his hands. "That's why I came here. I don't know what to do anymore. He had a fever last night and he was asking for you. GoGo's different too, and I don't know who else to go to. You were always good friends- he used to talk about you. Even if he's mad at you, he'll get over it. Please, Honey, please come talk to him."

"Okay." Honey said, finally. "I'll come. But tell me, what's been going on with him? What are the doctors telling him?"

"The right side of his face. It's been giving them trouble, and they aren't sure if he's going to be able to use that eye anymore. His hearing's been weird on that side too. And then there's his back- did you know about that?"

Honey racked her memory. "Back at the beginning they said that there was some trauma or something- but then they were able to get him walking and I thought it had worked itself out."

"Yeah." Hiro said, "It hasn't. He was doing fine for a while, and then a couple days ago-right after he came back- he fell during PT. And since then he hasn't been able to move. They're getting consults from doctors at other hospitals."

Honey took a deep breath. "That's bad."

"It's awful. So you see why you have to come talk to him." Hiro took his hands off his face.

"I know, Hiro." Honey stood up. "I'll come. I just don't want to hurt him more."

"You won't." Hiro said, jumping up with her. "He needs you, Honey. He needs his sistah right now. That's what he would call you, right?"

Honey smiled faintly as she grabbed her purse. "That's right. How'd you know that?"

"I went through his stuff, trying to get close to him, after the accident." Hiro said, "It was in something of his." He pulled open the door. "Let's go."

**A/N: Please review! They keep me inspired to write. **


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